17 October 2007

Dodges

My apologies to everyone out there. Right now I'm on business travel, and out of the loop (and the beltway). But, let me address a few things. First, BigKris asks:

Hey, D, you planning to go back and address that redicuolous "this is a rebuilding year" statement you made in the spring?

Yes, yes I am. A lesser blogger would try and weasel his way out of it. He would say things like "remember where we were at the time" or some such. I could say that I was actually right, and that we were rebuilding, it just happened a lot faster than I expected.

But those are dodges, and transparently so. The fact is, I was wrong. WRONG. W-R-O-N-G. This was not a rebuilding year. It was a modify the tools and take a shot year. Where I erred was in thinking that a determination as to what kind of year this was had to be made by game 10 or 15 or so. The fact is, once we saw how the season was shaping up (and we didn't really know until about game 18-20), then United had to make a choice. Once you start paying bonuses to SIs and the like, you're committed to a course. There was no Steve Guppy type player released at midseason this year. And there didn't need to be. United knew what they were about. I didn't. And... I'm glad.

Now, a quick word on stadium and relocations. If D.C. United moves to Maryland, then they move to Maryland. Would I feel squeamish about them continuing to be known as "D.C." United? Yes. Would I still support the team? Yup. Would I go to as many games? Provided they are Metro accessible, then yes. United must do what makes fiscal sense, and while I long for geographical purity, I long for a team more. Let them do what they must.

Again, my apologies for being slightly out of it. Hopefully once I get back, I can put my nose to the grindstone for everyone once again.